COVID-19 Impact on Pharmaceutical Packaging in Chemicals and Materials Industry

COVID-19 Impact on Hydroxychloroquine in Chemicals and Materials Industry

  • Chemical and Materials
  • Jan 14, 2021

COVID-19 Impact on Hydroxychloroquine in Chemicals and Materials Industry

INTRODUCTION

The primary use of hydroxychloroquine is in the prevention and treatment of malaria, particularly in cases of malarial infection caused by chloroquine-sensitive bacterial strains. It was first approved as a medicine back in 1955 by the United States and gained popularity ever since. By 2017, with more than five million prescriptions, it was not only the 128th most widely used drug in the United States, but also one on the List of Essential Drugs of the World Health Organisation.

Its sulphate salt, hydroxychloroquine sulphate, is the generally used form and is commonly sold under the brand names Plaquenil, Hydroquin, Axemal (in India), Dolquine, Quensyl, and Quinori for administration via the oral route. However, a proper amount of food intake is required before its oral administration to prevent the stomach from being upset.

USES

Although the primary use of hydroxychloroquine is against malaria caused by mosquito bites, it is also a disease-modifying anti-rheumatic drug (DMARD). DMARDs are a class of medication used to treat certain auto-immune diseases such as rheumatoid arthritis, juvenile idiopathic arthritis, and lupus. It has the ability to alleviate the pain and swelling, prevent joint damage, and could reduce the risk of long-term disability in the case of arthritis, and can reduce skin problems in lupus as well.

MECHANISMS OF ACTION

The precise mechanisms via which hydroxychloroquine exerts its activities are unknown. Scientists believe that hydroxychloroquine is a weak base that inhibits the polymerization of heme in the parasite by concentrating in its acid vesicles. This mechanism is similar to that of chloroquine, which is another anti-malarial drug. Hydroxychloroquine can inhibit certain enzymes in bacteria by interacting with its DNA. This fact makes it effective against certain strains of bacteria such as Plasmodium falciparum, Plasmodium malariae, Plasmodium ovale, and Plasmodium vivax, unlike chloroquine.

In addition to its anti-malarial activity, hydroxychloroquine could also interfere with the communication of cells in the immune systems, thereby exhibiting DMARD characteristics and preventing autoimmune diseases.

SIDE EFFECTS

Hydroxychloroquine is typically well-tolerated and is not known to cause many side effects. The most common side effects include nausea, diarrhoea, vomiting, loss of appetite, dizziness, and headache, which generally improve with time. Serious side effects include slow heartbeat, symptoms of heart failure, mood swings, hearing impairments, easy bruising/bleeding, infection such as sore throat and fever, muscle weakness, and hair loss. However, these are extremely rare.

In some extreme cases, which involve the prolonged intake of high doses of this medicine or where the patient is 60 years or older, side effects such as significant kidney or liver diseases and loss of vision has also been observed.

IMPACT OF COVID-19 ON HYDROXYCHLOROQUINE MARKET

The pandemic COVID-19 has created a horrendous situation all over the world, especially in the economies across the globe. The lockdown imposed to curtail the number of affected cases made the situation even more challenging for all economic sectors, especially in terms of growth. Although markets are recovering, the pace is lackadaisical.

However, for the market and economies supported by the production of hydroxychloroquine, the COVID-19 pandemic was a boon in disguise.

For instance,

  • India, which is the largest producer of hydroxychloroquine (HCQ). As per an analysis done on the initial lockdown period, the exports of hydroxychloroquine dipped to USD 36 million worth of the drug till February, FY20 from USD 51 million worth of the drug in FY19.

Nonetheless, the U.S. President Donald Trump's campaign for HCQ was a game-changer for all the main players in the market as the global demand for this drug, which was previously inexpensive, surged all of a sudden. Coming back to the previous instance of India, all of a sudden the export demand increased phenomenally. India’s SAARC neighbours, such as Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, the Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka along with other countries such as Brazil and the United States imported this drug from India. Moreover, the central government of India itself has requisitioned 100 million tablets for internal use. Both these parameters were vital for two of the major players in this market, Ipca Laboratories and Cadila Healthcare. Both these player were able to make phenomenal growth by utilizing this situation. An excerpt of this growth of both these players is depicted in Tables 1 and Table 2.

  1. 1. BREAK UP OF SALES IN THE YEARS 2019-2020 AND COMPARISON WITH THAT OF 2018-2019 FOR IPCA LABORATORIES (STANDALONE FACILITY) (IN USD MILLION)

BREAK-UP OF SALES (STANDALONE)  (IN USD MILLION)

 

2019-20

2018-19

 

Domestic

Exports

Total

Growth

Domestic

Exports

Total

Growth

Formulations

287.492

183.616

471.107

16%

247.541

157.568

405.109

11%

APIs & Intermediates

37.718

138.619

176.338

33%

30.36

102.601

132.962

18%

Total Sales

325.21

322.235

647.445

20%

277.902

260.169

538.071

13%

Growth

17%

24%

20%

 

15%

11%

13%

 

  1. 2. COMPARISON OF VARIOUS PARAMETERS FOR CADILA HEALTHCARE BETWEEN THE YEARS 2020 AND 2019 (IN USD MILLION)

 

As of March 31, 2020

As of March 31, 2019

Value as at Beginning of the Year

18.96

34.62

Gain on Valuation of Forward Contract Value Related to Investment in a Joint Venture

6.27

3.60

Amount Realized from Tranche I of Forward Contract

-

(19.24)

Value as at End of the Year

25.23

18.96

Out of Above, Amount Disclosed Under

Other Non-Current Financial Assets

25.23

18.96

In late April 2020, Fior markets published a market study predicting that the market would experience a growth that would reach the highest CAGR of 40.3% and would touch USD 5,549.65 million by 2027. However, the assumption that HCQ is effective against COVID-19 and hospitals worldwide would commence the use of hydroxychloroquine for the treatment of patients infected with COVID-19 resulted in this prediction.

But WHO’s announcement that hydroxychloroquine (HCQ) is ineffective in COVID-19 treatment and stoppage of the clinical trials on 17 June 2020 shook the market a little. Nevertheless, the predicted overall market growth could is still achievable, thanks to the malaria sub-segment. This segment is capable of witnessing exponential growth and significant revenue generation, as the cases of malaria are increasing across the globe. Due to the increasing prevalence of malaria in the region, the market might dominate the global market in terms of market share.

Secondly, the rapid growth of the online pharmacy segment with notable CAGR would also play a vital role in this achievement, owing to the enormous expansion of the e-commerce sector worldwide. The lockdown because of COVID-19 should be viewed as a catalyst in this case scenario, as it encouraged people to opt for contactless and convenient shopping, which resulted in this drastic e-commerce upsurge.

IMPACT ON END-USERS OF HYDROXYCHLOROQUINE

Considering the non-consequential nature of malaria in countries such as the U.S. and most of Europe, the manufacturing of hydroxychloroquine is not effective in these countries. As per the data, each patient needs a 14-tablet course. Therefore, 70 million people require around 100 million tablets for treatment.

With 67,326,947 infected people worldwide as of December 7, 2020, if proven effective against COVID-19, the market can reach substantial growth, especially in the Asia-Pacific market.

CONCLUSION

The COVID-19 pandemic has significantly affected all the manufacturing and industries worldwide. The imposed lockdown rules not only halted the production and manufacture of goods but also reduced sales across the globe to an extreme extend.

Even though this caused enormous loss for both the countries and economies, COVID-19 was a godsend bonanza for pharmaceutical industries, particularly to hydroxychloroquine industry. In the current condition, the demand for hydroxychloroquine is rapidly increasing even after hitting a halt in June 2020. If the current trend continues, this industry will achieve the predicted CAGR of 40.3% and would touch USD 5,549.65 million in profit over the course of seven years.